Lightning Storms and Lullabies
by Star0Dragon0Slayer
Summary: Mai Taniyama has astropophobia, an irrational and immense fear of lightning and thunder. She has been plagued by this fear ever since she was a child, but her mother was always there to sing and ease her fears. She is never and was never planning to let the others know but now she was all alone. What is she to do when a storm hits while shes working late in the office? With Naru


**Hey everyone! My second Ghost Hunt one/two shot. I hope you all Enjoy!**

 **"English"**

 _"Thinking/Singing"_

"Normal Speech"

 **Lightning Storms and Lullabies** **Baby Mine**

When Mai left her apartment that morning the sky was clear blue. The sun shined brightly down onto her as there was not a cloud in sight. The weather report had said there was any chance of precipitation and no rain meant no umbrella. Mai left hers at home, neatly hung on the wall.

Now, at 8:30 at night, Mai stood staring out the glass double doors of Shibuya Psychic Research. The dark gray clouds in the sky almost looked black and the rain was pouring down in bucket fulls, threatening to flood the streets of Shibuya.

The wind howled its dominance as it tossed the rain in every direction with its powerful blows.

Mai's stomach turned at the sight, leaving her feeling nauseous like it always did at the sight or idea of rain, or more accurately, what rain could bring. It looked like a storm was well on its way.

She watched as the trees on the front lawn of Shibuya Psychic Research as they tossed in the frenzied lashing of the wind. Behind the trees the dark clouds scudded frantically across the night sky and in every few moments the bright moon would rip through them, creating wraithlike shadows that raced along the ground and glass doors.

The building shook and the florescent lights flickered.

The unexpected flicker of light caused Mai to jump back from fear. She chuckled darkly, there was no humor in it.

"Stop being paranoid, Mai." She whispered to herself, "Storms don't always mean..." she started, but then in a voice even she barely heard, she uttered a single word, "Lightning." Though she was more worried about what accompanied lightning.

She could feel her heart rate picking up, adding to the uneasiness she was already feeling.

The glass double doors in front of her rattled and creaked making her take another step backwards. What genius thought it was a good idea to have glass doors on a business in Shibuya? Someone could easily break in.

She took another step back.

What if the doors shattered from the harsh weather?

That's ridiculous. Of course they wouldn't.

Mai shut her eyes tightly and began to take long deep breaths.

 _Breath in, breath out. In. Out._

The lights flickered again and Mai's nausea intensified. A low static sound of electricity started to hum through the lobby making her feel as if the floors were vibrating with it. Her knees became weak as she stumbled towards the wall, then leaned on it for support.

A white light flashed in her perpetual vision and she whipped her head towards the double doors. Her breath caught in her throat, she began panting, sucking as much air into her lungs as she could. She started to feel light-headed and dizzy.

' _Calm down. Calm down! It was probably just the lights flickering again. Breathe Mai! You're fine!'_ she tried to convince herself.

It was a lie.

She was not fine.

She wanted her mother.

She wanted to hear her sweet voice.

But instead a low rumble made its way to her ears. Her eyes widened as tears started to form.

She took another step back.

She barely heard it. Could it be her imagination? It was very well possible that her fear could make her delusional, make her mind play tricks on her. It could just be a normal rain storm right?

A bright light flashed outside the doors then,

 _BOOM!_

Thunder clapped.

The tears sprang from her eyes as she let out a surprised cry of terror.

Mai turned and ran. There was only one thing on her mind as she ran down the hall towards the office.

Shelter.

She needed to find shelter.

XxX

Oliver Davis (aka Naru) was knocked out of his thoughts when a particularly loud clap of thunder resounded through his office. He had just been reviewing a new case that he was considering accepting when the noise interrupted him.

The wind howled and the rain pelted against the window as another strike of lightning flashed.

The storm outside was unlikely to stop anytime soon. He decided to settle in for the long wait because there was no way he wanted to walk to his apartment in this weather.

Oliver glanced up at the digital clock on his desk, it read _8:32pm._ Mai had likely already left before the storm hit, so any tea he wanted he would have to make himself.

As he left his office, the lights flickered again. The power would most likely be fine, but just in case it did go out, he decided to grab a lamp with an internal battery from the storage closet. He swung the small door open and started to rummage through the shelves. There were four shelves full of basic supplies in case of injury, a fire, or a storm along with a few other things. The shelf specifically for a power outage had a large blue quilt. He suspected Mai had brought it in. He lifted the soft material off the shelf, and there in the clutter of supplies was the lamp. Sighing, he placed the quilt on the ground and reached for the lamp, just as he did, the power flicked off and he heard a rather loud _Thump_ and squeak

Oliver spun around and narrowed his eyes looking out into the darkness. He could vaguely see the outline of the two sofas, coffee table and a corner of Mai's desk around the corner.

"Mai?" he called. "Is that you?"

When there was no answer he walked cautiously around the sofas to her desk, the only place that would make that thump of metal against something solid sound. As he got closer, that's when he heard it, the quiet yet distinct sound of someone whimpering.

"Mai?" he asked again.

There was no one at the desk, but the chair on the other side was pulled out. _Is she under the desk?_

Oliver stepped to the side then bent down on one knee to look underneath, and there, huddled up in the fetal position with her hands over her head, shaking, was Mai.

"Mai." He repeated, louder this time. Mai's head shot up, he eyes were wide and full with fear while her face was soaked with tears.

"N..Naru?" she choked out.

"Mai, why are you down there?" he asked. "You're not scared of a little storm are you?"

"I.."

But before Mai could speak thunder cracked and rumbled outside while lightning flashed.

Mai let a cry of terror as she curled up on herself again. Her body was trembling violently.

"Come out of there." he told her. When she didn't respond, he proceeded to pull her out from under the desk.

But when he grabbed her wrist his fingers touched the cool metal bracelet she was wearing, his vision went black and he felt the familiar tug as he was pulled into a vision

XxX

 _When Oliver opened his eyes he found himself in a small cosy looking living room. There was a love seat couch with a pink and brown patchwork quilt along with a rocking chair and a coffee table._

 _There was a wood stove fire place in the corner of the room that was emitting a soft warmth and the familiar smoky smell of a camp fire._

 _Without his notice, a young woman and a little girl walked into the room. The woman settled in the rocking chair while the girl sat on the ground at the coffee table with paper and crayons as she coloured. The woman looked suspiciously like Mai but not. He could only guess it was her mother. So the girl was Mai._

 _"Mama! Look! Look!" Mai said as she held up a colourful piece of paper, a huge grin on her face._

 _"It's beautiful Mai." The woman said with a gentle smile._

 _She was still the same cheerful girl he knew._

 _The woman watched with a smile before pulling out a book. They stayed like that for a while then time sped up and Oliver assumed an hour or so had passed._

 _He was unsure why he was seeing this until a distinct rumble of thunder echoed through the room. Mai immediately tensed, her eyes widening. Her mother looked up and worried look made its way onto her face. She set the book down and got up._

 _"Mai? Honey, are you okay?"_

 _Another crack of thunder._

 _This time Mai's hands shot to her head as if to protect herself. Her eyes began to flood with tears as she looked for somewhere to hide._

 _The only place she saw,_

 _The coffee table._

 _Mai ducked underneath it, a sob escaped her throat._

 _"Mama!" Mai cried, "Mama, make it stop!"_

 _The woman closed the curtains and threw a blanket over the coffee table before climbing halfway under._

 _Oliver walked over to see what was happening, he tried to lift the quilt but his hands went right through it._

 _Instead he lied on his stomach to observe._

 _Underneath, the woman had Mai's face in her hands._

 _"Don't cry my dear." she said while wiping Mai's tears._

 _Mai nodded but another crack of thunder made her flinch._

 _Then her mother began to sing. It was an Japanese lullaby for children. Her voice was soft like silk as she sang, calming like the ocean waves and it had pulled Mai completely into a trance. Soon her eye lids began to droop until she finally fell asleep._ _The woman kissed her on the forehead and unhooked a thin metal bracelet from around her wrist and put it on Mai._

 _"To keep you safe my dear." She whispered and then the vision swirled away._

XxX

When Oliver opened his eyes, he found that he was in the same position as before he was pulled into the vision. His hand was on her wrist while he had one knee tucked under himself for support. In that moment he realized the vision had been almost instantaneously. _That has never happened before._

Mai still shook and resisted until Oliver let go of her hand. He abruptly stood up and walked away to retrieve the object he had left on the floor.

Mai suddenly felt even more alone as Naru left her by herself under the desk. Her eyes frantically searched for him but they only met with empty darkness. Panic constricted in her chest, she cried harder.

Lightning flashed outside the large window, "Naru!" Mai screamed, "Don't go! Pl..please come b..back!" she sobbed as she pushed herself further into the desk. She covered her ears with her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. Why did he leave? Where did he go?

She heard quick steps coming her way and when she snapped her eyes open Naru was in front of her kneeling on one knee holding out one hand for her to take.

"Come out of there." Naru said, his voice was soft and gentle, unlike his usual hard voice. "Please?"

Mai locked eyes with him and nodded, she hesitantly reached for his hand. The pads of her fingers just started to curl around his when,

 _BOOM!_

Thunder roared outside causing Mai jumped, terrified she threw herself at Naru. He fell back from his kneeling position to a sitting position, almost tumbling right over but caught himself. She had thrown her arms around his neck and sat on her heels between his legs. Her entire body shook and he could feel terror coming off her.

Mai snuggled her face into the crook of his neck. She breathed in, inhaling the calming scent of his hair. A few of her tears dripped onto his neck and her warm breath tickled. He hesitantly wrapped his own arms around her waist to pull her closer but Mai had already closed almost every gap between them.

Mai still shook like a leaf and flinched everytime lightning flashed so he grabbed the quilt he had retrieved moments ago and threw it over their heads.

"I'm scared.." Mai whispered so quietly he almost didn't hear.

Then he did something that she couldnt even imagine before now, something she can with one hundred percent confidence that he has only ever done for her, he sang.

 **" _Baby mine, don't you cry... Baby mine, dry your eyes..."_** his voice was soft and gentle, like it was when he spoke to her mere minutes ago, but it was different. He didnt sing in Japanese, but in English.

 **" _Rest your head close to my heart, never to part baby of mine."_** the lullaby sounds pure, something you would sing to a child she guessed.

 _" **Little one when you play, don't you mind what they say."** _but even if she couldn't understand the words, it didn't really matter. She was only listening to the sound of his voice, not what it was saying.

 _ **"Let those eyes sparkle and shine, never a tear, baby of mine."**_ It was a sweet sound and Mai found herself feeling calm, a stark contrast to her terror moments ago. Her awareness of the storm slowly slipped away.

 _ **"If they knew sweet little you, they would end up loving you too. All those same people who scold you. What they would give just for the right to hold you."** _Her body stopped shaking and eased into Naru's form. She could never get tired of hearing his voice.

 _ **"From your head down to your toes, you're not much goodness knows. but you're so precious to me, baby of mine. All of those same people who scold you, what they would give just for the right to hold you."**_ Her arms loosened from around his neck slightly as her eyes grew heavy.

 _" **From your head down to your toes, you're not much goodness knows but you're so precious to me, baby of mine."** _Her eyes closed and her consciousness started to leave her to the peacefulness of sleep.

She heard it just as she drifted off, quiet but perfectly clear.

" _Baby of mine_."

She smiled sleepily. "Thank you, Oliver." she whispered, then she was out.

The lullaby was Gene's favorite. Luella would always sing it to them until one day Gene said he was too old for lullabies. Luella had stopped as requested but truthfully both Oliver and Eugene really missed it, not that they would admit it.

He sighed.

After stilling his movements he could feel her even breaths on his neck as she slept. He didn't want to risk waking her up while the storm still raged on so he remained there.

He was unsure about how much time had past when he felt his own eyes begin to droop with exhaustion.

His arms around her tightened. He smiled.

"Sweet dreams, Mai."

XxX

 **I was really excited to finally post it!** **How did you all like it? I would love any feedback you guys have. Also if any one has any questions to ask me or anything really feel free to review or PM me.**

 **Also if anyone may have a short story idea they want to write but don't have the time or just not great at writing, PM me. If I can I would love to help.**

 **That's all I really planned** ,

 **But...**

 **Here's a very quick little bonus epilogue**

~ The next morning ~

When Lin entered the office that morning he went straight to Oliver's office to find that it was empty. The room was just as it usually was, except for an open file case that lay forgotten on the desk.

That was unlike him, he never left something so important out in the open. Lin walked over and closed it as well as putting it back in its appropriate place before leaving the office. The door made a small clink of metal as he closed it. Lin decided to check the kitchenette next know full well that Oliver hated to be called for.

He took his first step to the kitchenette when he heard the unmistakable sound of snoring. It wasn't loud nor was it obnoxious but soft like someone who may have went to sleep with a stuffed nose. It came from around the corner where Mai's desk was placed for privacy since she couldn't have her own office.

He didn't know what he had been expecting to see when he rounded the corner but it definitely hadn't been this. Out of everything he could imagine, from ghost to demons or even fairies (if they even existed) he couldn't begin to imagine (or believe) this.

There on the floor just behind the desk was Oliver and Mai, and they were _cuddling._ Noll was on his side with his arm over Mai's waist reaching all the way across her back while she was taking a big face full of his chest and her hands clutched the front of his shirt. There was the quilt from the closet draped halfway over them and they both used their free arm as a pillow of sorts. But one thing stood above all the rest and it made him chuckle; Noll had a big smile on his face. A smile that he would probably never see when Oliver was awake.

It seemed he had been wrong to worry something would happen to either of them during the storm last night. They looked better than when he had left.

Lin decided to leave them be. He would never hear the end of it if Noll realized he had been seen sleeping on the ground in the office with Mai. It would be better if he let them awake on their own.

He was just about to leave when a thought struck him. He turned back and pulled out his phone. After snapping a few pictures, he walked away with a light chuckle escaping his throat.

He pulled open his messages, selected a few things and hit send.

Madoka was going to _love_ this.


End file.
